I. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to scaffold equipment, and more particularly to devices for stacking and transporting scaffold equipment, namely the horizontal and vertical scaffold members used in scaffold construction.
II. Description of the Prior Art
In the scaffold construction industry, scaffold equipment is typically delivered to and from the construction site by way of flat-bed trucks. This equipment is most often comprised of vertical and horizontal scaffold members, scaffold boards, and various connection hardware. The horizontal scaffold members are generally elongated sections of aluminum tubing having ends which allow for the attachment of these members to one another as needed. The vertical scaffold members are similarly shaped, but each one typically includes a number ring-like structures or cups spaced along its length to which connections can be made with the horizontal scaffold members.
Whether the scaffold construction company owns or rents the scaffold equipment to be used at the construction site, it is critically important that the scaffold equipment be in good condition to ensure a safe scaffold structure for construction workers. It is also important to know exactly how many of each piece of equipment is on the truck, both at the time of shipment from the source and at the time of delivery to the site. Missing or damaged scaffold equipment almost always translates into lost time and money for scaffold company. The most popular method of delivering scaffold equipment to and from the site, particularly the horizontal and vertical members, involves stacking the members between guide posts on a flat-bed truck and tying them down with a rope or cable.
There are several problems with this method. First, it is exceedingly difficult to obtain an accurate count of how many of each piece is on the delivery truck, because the members are not uniformly stacked between the guide posts. Second, this method necessarily requires that each member contact the neighboring members in the stack, resulting in wear and damage to the scaffold equipment over time due to the weight of surrounding members, rattling during transportation, and galvanic corrosion at the points of contact. This problem is especially costly for vertical members, because the ring-like structures or cups are more easily damaged. If these cups are worn to such an extent that connections are hard to make or unreliable, safety is sacrificed and the scaffold construction company may be subject to citations by regulatory authorities, such as OSHA.
What is needed, therefore, is a device for stacking and transporting horizontal and vertical scaffold members that (1) allows quick and easy counting of scaffold members at any time, and (2) prevents damage and wear to both horizontal and vertical scaffold members by keeping the members separate from one another and eliminating the possibility of rattling and corrosion during transportation.